Tag Archives: hippo

Zoo Plzen is the second oldest zoo in the Czech Republic but this day this zoo is very modern, with almost no animals in cages. Most of the species have as big as possible exhibits, which look very natural. This zoo is also the biggest one in the Czech Republic as it is combined with botanical garden.

Here are some photos that I took in Zoo Plzen:

North Chinese leopard (Panthera pardus japonica) was lying under trees in shade so there wasn’t much light to get at least good photo.
(Shutter Speed: 1/160 seconds, Aperture: F/2.8, Focal Length: 200.0, ISO 200)

Photos from my another visit to Prague Zoo. I arrived at the zoo at half past nine in hope that there will be almost nobody in the zoo and I would enjoy the calmness there and hear only the sounds made by all the animals. Mistake! At this time, which is time when zoo opens, there was already several hundreds people and the screaming children where almost everywhere.

The lioness called Aisha was unusually active this day. I usually see her sleeping in the back of the outside exhibit but today she was walking around it. Indian lion (Panthera Leo Persica).
(Shutter Speed: 1/2500 seconds, Aperture: F/2.8, Focal Length: 200.0, ISO 800)

Young hippo called Váleček (in czech it means “small cylinder”) was at first hesitating whether to enter the water or not. After a while he decided to go there. Fortunately, he was swimming towards me with only his head above water. The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius).
(Shutter Speed: 1/8000 seconds, Aperture: F/2.8, Focal Length: 200.0, ISO 200)

The Prague Zoo built a completely new exhibition for elephants and hippos and I finally had a chance to visit this part of the zoo. Fortunately, the new pavilions are far and high from the Vltava river and there the flood didn’t destroyed it. And this new part is… just wow! On one hand it is very modern with huge exhibits for the animals and on the other even the smallest details are simply perfect. It all looks very natural and it is stylized into Indian environment.

In this photo, you can see one of the first elephants born in the Czech Republic and the first one born in Prague Zoo. The baby is female and she is called Sita and she was born in February this year. The Asian or Asiatic elephant (Elephas maximus)
(Shutter Speed: 1/5000 second; Aperture: F/2,8; Focal Length: 200mm; ISO 400)

In the next two photos, there is two years old hippo called Váleček (the meaning of the name is “small cylinder”). He was quite enjoying the inner pool in his exhibit. The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius).
(Shutter Speed: 1/640 second; Aperture: F/2,8; Focal Length: 200mm; ISO 400)